Connecticut Innovations Talent Fair

Understanding the Talent Fair

Connecticut Innovations, the state’s venture capital arm, is dedicated to building talent pools and connecting our portfolio of innovative, Connecticut-based companies with surrounding local talent. We are hosting our first talent fair on Thursday, February 27, 2025, from 1:00 to 4:30 p.m., at District New Haven, to connect a select group of CI companies with top-tier students from surrounding universities. Students who attend will hear from a panel of early-stage founders, meet with more than a dozen CI portfolio companies seeking emerging talent, and get the chance to participate in activities like career development workshops, local giveaways and professional headshot sessions.

REGISTER TO ATTEND

Dr. Laurie Santos, The Happiness Lab

We are fortunate to host Dr. Laurie Santos as our keynote speaker for the 2025 Connecticut Innovations Talent Fair. Dr. Santos is a psychologist and an expert on human cognition, its origins, and the evolutionary biases that influence our all-too imperfect life choices. Her work centers around how behavioral change through positive psychology can lead to a happier and more fulfilling life. She is the Chandrika and Ranjan Tandon Professor of Psychology and the former Head of Silliman College at Yale University. Her course, Psychology and the Good Life, teaches what the science of psychology says about how to make wiser choices for a better life. The class is Yale’s most popular course in over 300 years and has been adapted into a free Coursera program that has been taken by more than four million people to date. Dr. Santos is the host of the podcast, The Happiness Lab. She makes the case that humans are drastically wrong about what makes us happy and often do the exact opposite of what will make our lives better. Based on her incredibly popular course at Yale, she presents the latest scientific research in effort to help listeners rethink happiness and guide them toward their best lives. Launched in 2019, the podcast has been downloaded more than 100 million times. From her research, Santos speaks to how we are biologically programmed to be motivated by sex, to be deeply influenced by other people, and to repeat our mistakes. Using evidence from the animal kingdom to help explain our sometimes illogical behav¬iors, she provides advice on how to engage our uniquely human faculties to counteract evolution and lead better lives. Dr. Santos has been featured in numerous news outlets includ¬ing the New York Times, NBC Nightly News, The Today Show, CBS This Morning, NPR, GQ Magazine, Slate, CNN and Oprah Magazine. Dr. Santos is a winner of numerous awards both for her science and teaching from institutions such as Yale and the American Psychological Association. She has been featured as one of Popular Science’s “Brilliant 10” and was named TIME’s “Leading Campus Celebrity.”

Featured Companies

You'll get the chance to know these early-stage companies better in-person, but for now, take a sneak peek at the portfolio companies participating in the upcoming CI Talent Fair. If any of these companies stand out to you, please let us know on your registration form.

Panel Discussion

Meet the leaders from CI's portfolio actively growing their companies and contributing to Connecticut's innovation ecosystem everyday.

Agenda

1:00 p.m. Welcome and Check-In

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To ensure a seamless check-in process, please make sure you are registered here: https://www.eventsquid.com/event/26147

1:15 p.m. Opening Remarks

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Bo Bradstreet, director of the Human Capital Services program at Connecticut Innovations and managing partner at Bohan & Bradstreet, Inc., a boutique national talent acquisition firm, will welcome everyone to the space with brief remarks about CI’s Human Capital Services program and an overview of the day ahead.

1:20 p.m. Panel Discussion

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Curious what it’s like to work for a disruptive, fast-paced startup company? You’ll get the chance to hear from an impressive lineup of leaders from CI’s portfolio as they discuss their respective ventures and the benefits of working in Connecticut’s innovation ecosystem.

Get to know our panelists:

2:00 p.m. ePoster Booths and Workshops

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Attendees will get the chance to spend time visiting with CI portfolio companies actively hiring, participate in career development activities, network with other students, and complete tasks to be eligible for exciting local giveaways.

Activities include:

Professional Headshot Station
Workshop: The Power of First Impressions
Workshop: Venture Capital 101
Pedals Smoothie Bar
CharCute Charcuterie Cart
New England Coffee Guy
Meet the Mascots
Live, Work and Play: A Connecticut Giveaway

3:15 p.m. Keynote Speaker

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We are fortunate to host Dr. Laurie Santos as our keynote speaker for the 2025 Connecticut Innovations Talent Fair. Dr. Santos is a psychologist and an expert on human cognition, its origins, and the evolutionary biases that influence our all-too imperfect life choices. Her work centers around how behavioral change through positive psychology can lead to a happier and more fulfilling life. She is the Chandrika and Ranjan Tandon Professor of Psychology and the former Head of Silliman College at Yale University. Her course, Psychology and the Good Life, teaches what the science of psychology says about how to make wiser choices for a better life. The class is Yale’s most popular course in over 300 years and has been adapted into a free Coursera program that has been taken by more than four million people to date.

Dr. Santos is the host of the podcast, The Happiness Lab. She makes the case that humans are drastically wrong about what makes us happy and often do the exact opposite of what will make our lives better. Based on her incredibly popular course at Yale, she presents the latest scientific research in effort to help listeners rethink happiness and guide them toward their best lives.

4:00 p.m. Networking and Giveaway Announcements

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As the event wraps up, we’ll announce a handful of lucky winners to receive our exclusive giveaway baskets, packed with local Connecticut goodies and experiences. These baskets feature contributions from some amazing Connecticut-based companies that will leave you inspired by all the reasons Connecticut is a fantastic place to live, work, and play.